What happens to alcohol when you consume it? Well, essentially the same thing that happens if you do NOT drink it. It turns to vinegar. To become vinegar inside the body, alcohol requires two enzymes: alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). These are natural enzymes that exist in the body to break down certain chemicals. ADH is located mainly in the liver but not exclusively as small amounts are also found in the stomach lining.
All alcohol is partially broken down in the stomach and then passes into the small intestine. From there, it quickly passes into the bloodstream. ADH helps the conversion of alcohol to acetaldehyde, which is a toxic chemical that can make a person feel sick. Under normal conditions acetaldehyde is broken down quite rapidly, however if it accumulates in the body, intense feelings of nausea and illness result. Acetaldehyde is rapidly converted to acetate by several other enzymes, and is eventually metabolized to carbon dioxide and water.
The human liver is only capable of metabolizing a certain amount of alcohol per hour. Since your kidneys and liver require water to process toxins from alcohol, the body channels any available water from all parts of the body -- even the brain -- to metabolize alcohol. The body also produces enzymes in order to remove the toxins resulting from alcohol consumption. Yet, when the toxin level exceeds your body's ability to efficiently remove them, you experience unpleasant symptoms. The excess toxins may irritate your stomach, cause you to vomit, and make you feel generally ill.
People who drink heavily tend to also have problems with hangovers. The primary reason for a hangover is dehydration, since alcohol acts as a diuretic. This means that the urine output from your kidneys is increased. The classic resulting symptoms of a hangover include: headache, irritability, nausea, fatigue, dehydration, body aches, vomiting, dizziness, loss of appetite, and diarrhea.
Alcohol can produce impairments in memory after just a few drinks. Large quantities of alcohol, especially when consumed quickly and on an empty stomach, can produce a blackout. This is an interval of time in which an intoxicated person cannot recall details of events -- or even the entire event -- the next day. A blackout is not a condition where one becomes unconscious. On the contrary, a person may seem quite awake and acting fully conscious during the drinking binge. Blackouts are much more common among social drinkers than previously assumed, and they should be viewed as a serious consequence of acute intoxication regardless of age.
Women appear to be more vulnerable than men to the adverse consequences of alcohol use. In general, women have less body weight, and even less water, than men of similar body weight. This means that women achieve higher concentrations of alcohol in the blood after drinking equivalent amounts of alcohol and therefore become more impaired than men. There is also evidence of a relationship between alcohol abuse and eating disorders, such as anorexia and bulimia, in women. A recent study of adult women has shown that 27 percent of the women in the eating disorder program met the criteria for alcohol dependence.
Certainly, the presence of body image can compel some women to drink because alcohol lowers self-awareness. Further, undesirable weight gain from heavy drinking may be another factor for the association between eating disorders and alcohol dependence. The fact is alcoholic drinks contain an excess of empty calories. One ounce of pure alcohol delivers about 170 calories. These calories are quickly available to the body, which must do relatively little work to release them. Most fats, proteins, and carbohydrates require one to four hours of soaking in digestive acids secreted by the mouth, stomach, and small intestine in order to be released. However, alcohol requires virtually no preparation before being absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed throughout the body. The breakdown pro¬cess in the liver is relatively simple, and within minutes after ingestion, alcohol's calories are supplying the body with a boost of energy.
Ultimately, the key question is not what happens to alcohol when you drink it. Rather, a much more essential question is: what happens to you when you drink alcohol. Each person has a different tolerance level and metabolic reaction to alcohol. The key to avoiding long-term physical, emotional, and psychological problems is to fully understand the metabolic process of alcohol. Moreover, one must know his or her personal tolerance and limits, and take steps to moderate consumption accordingly.
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